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Quest Means Business

NVIDIA's Earnings Set to Offer Insight on A.I.'s Growth; Larry Summers Resigning From Harvard Over Epstein Files; Trump: Tariff Revenues are Saving Our Country. Low-Cost Imports Put Squeeze on Italian Olive Oil Producers; Nvidia Earnings Beat Expectations. Aired 4p-5p ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:15]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A decent upside for the markets today. All the major indices were up. I mean, the Dow is getting ever

closer to that 50,000 mark again. But everyone awaiting NVIDIA results, which we will have for you in a few minutes.

Those are the markets and these are the main events.

All eyes on Wall Street's most closely watched stocks. That's NVIDIA earnings and they will be out momentarily.

Anthropic loosens its safety framework around responsible A.I. development.

And the K-shaped economy in action, how buyers can't get enough of New York's high end real estate. I tour a $20 million apartment. You'll see

what it gets you.

Live from New York. It is Wednesday, February 25th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

And good evening everyone. Tonight, the A.I. trade is about to be put to the test by NVIDIA's latest earnings. Now, the chipmaker will release its

fourth quarter numbers any moment now.

In previous quarters, those results have been viewed as a bellwether for the A.I. boom. Some companies are now trying other chip makers as the A.I.

race heats up. Now, to keep pace with its own competitors, Anthropic says it is rolling back its core safety principles.

For example, Anthropic used to pause the training of models if their capabilities outstrip the company's ability to regulate them. That

principle is now gone.

The U.S. Defense Department has threatened, meantime, to take a contract away from Anthropic if it didn't roll back some of those safety principles.

Hadas Gold is in New York for us and Hadas, I know, you're going to be able to game this out for us quite clearly, because when I look at it, you know,

put simply, this is about guardrails on A.I., but it seems contradictory, right? On the one hand, Anthropic says it will refuse to bend to The

Pentagon's demands; on the other, they're dropping some of their own safety standards here. Why?

HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a sense of competition here, but when it comes to The Pentagon, Anthropic, they are willing to

loosen some things up for the military, but they have really two main concerns that they do not want to loosen guardrails on. One is A.I. being

able to control autonomous weapons, and the second is A.I. being able to be used in the mass surveillance of U.S. citizens.

Now, The Pentagon says that their issue with this is not about those two red lines that Anthropic has, but Anthropic has been indicating, according

to a source familiar, that they are not going to budge on those two things. But you're right, that right as this, you know fight with The Pentagon is

having, they have that looming 5:01 P.M. deadline on Friday. Anthropic made a kind of surprise announcement because Anthropic has always been known as

this safety first A.I. company. They're one of the only A.I. companies that have a chief philosopher on hand to try and get a sense of morality, a soul

into their Claude A.I. chatbot.

And now what they said is they're actually rolling back one of those core policies, as you noted, it is that declaration that they would pause the

development of an A.I. model if its abilities to do things that were harmful, they use the example of creating a bioweapon was faster than their

ability to put safety guardrails around it.

And they say -- they explain they are doing this because if one A.I. developer that's not Anthropic paused about, or if an A.I. developer, that

would be Anthropic paused the development of an A.I. model while others move forward in the training and deploying of these A.I. systems without

strong mitigations, they believe that that could result in a world that is less safe, that the developers with the weakest protections would set the

pace.

Because when Anthropic first set out these safety policies, they were hopeful that others would get on board and do something similar, but that

did not happen. And so they are very worried that if they are the cautious A.I. company that slows themselves down, others are going to speed up.

Those are going to be the ones that are used by everyone, and those models are going to be dangerous.

Anthropic really does see itself as the sort of good guy, the safety guy. So they're saying we might as well have the best, most dominant model and

it will be the safest because of our other core tenets, core policies.

And remember, Paula, there is nothing that is governing these A.I. companies. There are no real laws out there over how A.I. models are

developed or the dangers that they could pose. There is not even sort of an industry standard. There is no main group that is sort of getting them all

together and saying hey, let's make some rules and regulations for the road.

These companies are, you could call it, you know, writing their own homework and grading it as well, all at the same time.

NEWTON: Yes, and Hadas, a lot of the concern here seems to be that if the United States isn't first in A.I., China will be. That's one concern. And

then, as you point out, the Trump administration is not exactly open to regulation, is it? It hasn't really been moving at all on that.

[16:05:03]

GOLD: No. Well, the Trump administration says that they want a broad national framework versus a piece by piece piecemeal of all these different

states creating their own laws, which is something that we've seen a trend in places like California and New York, but the Trump administration is

saying that they want a broad national framework on this, we haven't gotten an indication of what that looks like. We don't see draft proposals yet.

The midterms are coming up, it is not clear whether that's going to happen before the midterms, and so some companies like Anthropic and some groups

are saying we have to push forward with at least something. There needs to be some rules of the road.

Anthropic recently donated $20 million to a group that is advocating for these A.I. rules and regulations and laws, and then you have OpenAI

executives, like the President of OpenAI donating to kind of an opposing group who is trying to prevent states from enacting these regulations,

saying that it is going to stifle innovation and let China win the A.I. race.

And so you do have these sort of opposing factions, and its only heating up an already very, very hot competitive rivalry between some of these A.I.

companies.

NEWTON: Hadas, I know you've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes with some of these companies to really try and game out and explain even

how to put those guardrails in place and how they actually work.

I mean look, our viewers, you and I were reading all the apocalyptic things about A.I., but what have you learned in the last few months?

GOLD: I mean, A.I. guardrails, you have to keep in mind that even though A.I. is a computer system that sometimes even the people who are developing

them don't know exactly how they work, the rules that are put into place on them are created by humans, and in a way, they reflect the values of the

company itself.

A.I. guardrails work in several layers. The first layer is when an A.I. is just trained on the data that its trained. A.I. is often trained on just

reams and reams of data, but it is also trained in something called reinforcement learning and that is when the A.I. engineers and these

reinforcement trainers will tell an A.I., you know, give me a few different answers and they'll say, this was a good answer, this was a bad answer and

that helps the A.I. learn what is good and what is bad.

But then there is also all of these other system policy, system prompts that the A.I. will go through before giving a response and these will be

very specific instructions literally, they will say, do not give instructions on how to launch a nuclear weapon. Do not give instructions on

how to create a bio weapon. That's literally what some of these instructions say in these system prompts and the A.I. will read that before

it gives every single answer.

And then there is often sort of a final filter where a separate A.I. system will actually read. The original A.I. system's response, check it for any

of these violations of the rules before actually presenting it to you.

But this is still a very new world, and all of these A.I. companies are still working through exactly how this works, because when you have a

system that is trained on everything, it has the potential to give some very dangerous responses, unless you put some of these guardrails in place.

NEWTON: Right, trained on everything. I mean, just think about that.

Hadas Gold for us, I learned a lot and I know we will keep learning from you. Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Now, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is retiring from his professorship at Harvard University as he faces backlash over his ties to

Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement, Summers says it was a difficult decision and that he is grateful to the students and colleagues he worked with. Now, the former

Harvard President has said he is deeply ashamed about his relationship with Epstein.

Meanwhile, a new CNN investigation suggests the Justice Department withheld dozens of FBI records when they released the Epstein files last month.

Kara Scannell is following all of this for us. I mean look, Kara, on Mr. Summers, he apologized. He backed away from other positions, but he seemed

intent on keeping his position at Harvard. You know why this response and why now?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we are seeing a lot of people resigning from their positions, relinquishing certain titles that they had

as the Epstein files are now fully public. And as you said, Lawrence Summers did initially step back and was on a break from his professor roles

and duties beginning in the fall when his relationship with Epstein came out when the House had released a number of documents that showed that the

two men continued to stay in communication and that Summers had even asked Epstein for romantic advice all leading up to just before Epstein was

arrested in 2019.

But now, while Summers is not saying exactly why the timing is, he was on leave. Now, it is official that he is going to retire. It seems as though

that the public sentiment and acceptance for people to maintain positions in light of the Epstein files is just not there and we are now seeing

Summers step back from his role that he has held for decades.

NEWTON: Yes, certainly the fallout being more pronounced, he decided to go ahead and do this.

In terms of digging into these files themselves, as I know you've been doing. There are still so many questions about what was not released. I

mean, what more are you learning about the files, the way they've landed? What has been redacted and what just hasn't shown up?

[16:10:08]

SCANNELL: Yes, I mean, there is a lot of unhappiness particularly from Democrats on the Hill about the way the Justice Department has handled

their compliance with the Epstein Transparency Act and our CNN investigative team had dug in on some of these files that are just missing

from the documents.

They were able to look at some of the FBI 302s. Those are the interviews that they had with witnesses and found that there are ninety 302s that are

missing, at least as it relates to the investigation into Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

So using this evidence log that was turned over to her attorneys and looking at the serial numbers in the log, they were able to see that these

302s are missing. Among the ones that are missing include interviews with a woman that they spoke to in 2019, who said that she was sexually assaulted

by Jeffrey Epstein when she was as young as 13 years old.

She also said in one of the interviews that she was assaulted by Donald Trump in the 1980s. Now, The White House is saying that this is false and

salacious. The Justice Department we asked them, why are these documents missing from the files? They told us that they did not delete any

documents. They said if documents are not included in the files, its either because they were duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing

investigation.

Now where this allegation ultimately went to is really unclear. There is another reference in an FBI document from 2025 where it is listing

allegations against prominent people, and that one says that one person claimed abuse by Trump, but refused to cooperate. So, it appears that that

is maybe where that initial allegation against Trump ended up, that this witness ultimately decided not to cooperate with the investigation, but

Trump has not been criminally accused of any wrongdoing not by the Justice Department in 2019 or today -- Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, Kara Scannell thanks for wrapping that for us. Appreciate it.

Now, the Trump administration says global tariffs could rise to 15 percent for some countries that could spell trouble for trade partners like the

U.K. More on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: U.S. President Donald Trump says the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs still leaves him the power to drive a hard bargain on trade. Trump

said in his State of the Union Address that tariffs bring in substantial revenue and that he intends to apply them using other laws without going to

Congress.

[16:15:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It is saving our country the kind of money we are taking in, peace protecting many of

the wars I settled was because of the threat of tariffs. I wouldn't have been able to settle them without them, will remain in place under fully

approved and tested alternative legal statutes.

And as time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will like in the past, substantially replace the modern day system of

income tax taking a great financial burden off the people that I love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: To be clear, foreign companies do not pay the tariffs, Americans and American companies pay the tariffs.

Trump has already imposed a new 10 percent global tariff. His trade representative says that rate could rise to 15 percent for some countries.

That would hurt certain trading partners who struck deals with the United States.

Now, Global Trade Alert, a research nonprofit, crunched the numbers and it says a 15 percent global tariff would hit British goods the most.

Downing Street says nothing is off the table if the U.S. does not honor their deal. Shevaun Haviland is the Director General of the British

Chambers Of Commerce, and she joins us now.

It is good to see you.

I can only imagine the uncertainty swirling in the office. I have read your statements online, but can you bring us right up to date on the deal that

the U.K. has on the table at the moment, and if this stays at 10 percent, what does it mean for that deal? I mean, I noticed in one of your releases

you actually called the whole situation perverse.

SHEVAUN HAVILAND, DIRECTOR GENERAL, BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: Yes, indeed. So, it has been a very busy weekend over here. So as you say at the

moment for the U.K., after Liberation Day last April, we negotiated a 10 percent tariff with the U.S. pretty much across the board. There are a few

sectors that are different, but that's pretty much across the board. For most companies who weren't actually paying any tariffs, that was a

significant uplift.

So to hear the weekend that 10 percent might go to 15 percent was, you know another sort of huge uncertainty for U.K. PLC and we don't know what is

going to happen next. It may well be that that 15 percent comes in at some point in the near future, and that uncertainty is really bad for business.

I was speaking to a business in the east of the U.K. this morning -- made record players, big exporters to the U.S. that just about got themselves

sorted after last April and actually sales were doing quite well and they said this makes them feel like they are back to square one.

So, this huge uncertainty is bad for business and we know that a significant number of businesses are thinking about how they can move their

goods away from exporting to the U.S. to other markets.

NEWTON: Yes, which is a stark admission at that point, when those markets were the ones that you worked so hard to get in the first place. I do want

to ask you Shevaun, do you think there is a better deal to be had here with the United States? Do you believe the Starmer government should open it

back up at this point, or would you be happy with the one that is already on the table if it stays in place?

HAVILAND: Look, we absolutely have said to the government, you need to keep on negotiating, let's talk to all our trading partners. Let's talk to the

U.S. and see if we can get a better deal it is sector by sector or all across the board. Because as I said, the 10 percent is still worse than we

had last February.

However, if we can stick with something for a good amount of time that will help businesses plan ahead, because if you think about goods you have in

production now, you know, this is -- you're going to export in a few months' time, this is added uncertainty to the sort of prices that you are

going to charge there. And as you said earlier, tariffs are a lose-lose, they are bad for business, they are bad for consumers, they are bad for the

global economy.

So, for the U.K. government, we've said, you know, keep negotiating with the U.S. government, talk to Congress because they are the ones that are

going to now be involved in 150 days' time. Look at how you can help U.K. businesses with export finance, for example, and think about the tariffs

that we charge coming in to help alleviate costs for business. So they can -- you know they can keep planning ahead.

NEWTON: A lot of countries are trying this strategy because a lot of them had heard especially when they're in a position of the U.K. is of having

the U.S. as a large trading partner, everyone has noticed that Keir Starmer was in China, Mark Carney of Canada was in China, Friedrich Merz of Germany

is there now.

You talked about that company and expansion, do you think that is the key that whether it is the British Chamber or the British government or British

businesses, everyone needs to work hard to really diversify trade because the U.S. is no longer really a reliable partner here.

HAVILAND: I mean, we would say that absolutely anyway. Trade export is the fastest way to grow your economy. Businesses that export, you know, pay

better, stay longer, grow faster.

[16:20:11]

You know, there are 190-odd, depending on how you count it, markets out there. So we always encourage our members to go and find new markets.

We have British Chambers in 75 countries all around the world, a huge network to help you find a partner, help you move your goods across the

world, so absolutely, we should be looking in all the right places.

NEWTON: With the government's help.

HAVILAND: Of course, yes, it is a partnership. It is a partnership with government, with our embassies all over the world. Let's go and find new

trading partners and new trading deals.

NEWTON: Okay. Shevaun Haviland, thanks. It is good to have you and we will continue to check in. Appreciate it.

Now President Trump gave a full-throated defense of U.S. economic strength during his State of the Union on Tuesday. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis with a stagnant economy.

The roaring economy is roaring like never before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The U.S. economy has, in fact, been resilient. Growth is lower than under President Biden, but it is still solid. Unemployment remains low and

inflation is not far from the Fed's two percent target.

Still, many Americans are concerned about rising prices of everyday goods and lower income households are not seeing the same gains as those at the

top. Remember, it is always about that K-shaped economy.

CNN Business senior reporter, David Goldman joins us now.

David, good to see you.

To say you are steeped in the numbers really does not go that far in terms of explaining how long you've been looking at this, especially since

Liberation Day.

So tell me where are we at in terms of what he says about the economy? Because if you look at the veneer of the stats that we just put up there,

things look okay.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: yes, things look just fine on paper, right?

So as you said, inflation is just about where you would want it. Actually, job growth is starting to rebound a little bit. The GDP numbers were the

weakest since 2020, but they were right on pace with where we were in just the last three years, and a lot of that was the negatives of GDP were

because of the shutdown, which we should be making up in this quarter.

So the economy looks pretty good, but if you're a voter, if you're someone who is watching Trump's speech and you want to know what all this means for

you, you don't care at all about those numbers. You care about affordability. You care about what's in your bank account, what's in your

wallet and those are the things that are going to matter the most to you, and that is why a lot of people are really, really upset about the economy,

because although wages are outpacing inflation by a lot, actually over the past few years, that's mostly true for wealthier Americans, for people who

are middle class and especially people who are lower income. It is just not keeping up. Their paychecks aren't stretching the same way that they had

before.

NEWTON: You know, David, this brings us to the issue of those lower interest rates and some of the figures that we just put up there really are

indicative of where lower interest rates would help and help a lot.

We are going to have a new Fed Chair. Do you think it is a guarantee that Donald Trump is going to get what he wants out of that Fed Chair, and

actually lower interest rates? Because there is a lot of noise, as we say in the data right now.

GOLDMAN: Yes, I mean, who knows what is going to happen come May or whether we are even going to get a new Fed Chair, given everything that is going on

with the issues going on with the Fed and Congress right now.

NEWTON: Good point.

GOLDMAN: But let's just assume that Kevin Warsh is confirmed and he comes in. You know, there is a pretty decent case that rates should start to go

down a little bit if the, you know, if inflation is steady and if job growth is sort of, you know, around where we've seen it, there is a decent

case that you could actually start to cut rates a little bit, boost the economy and make Donald Trump happy.

Certainly not that that's a reason to do it, but, you know there is a decent economic case to do it.

The big question, though is how much growth are we actually going to see in the quarters that we need to get through before Kevin Warsh becomes

potentially the next Fed Chair? If we are seeing that big growth and there might be a reason to stay put just for a little, so we don't see inflation

creep higher.

NEWTON: Right. And so many Americans watching those all-important mortgage rates, which again sometimes are affected by short term rates sometimes

aren't.

David Goldman for us. Good to see you. Thanks so much.

Now that K-shaped economy is evident in New York City, the real estate market right here.

High mortgage rates, we were just talking about it are keeping many potential buyers out of that market. Meantime, some ultra-high end

properties are being sold, get this, before they're even listed.

Now, I spoke with a top agent from real estate firm, Douglas Elliman in one of luxury buildings. Listen.

[16:25:19]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (voice over): It stands like a trophy, exquisitely perched.

MICHELLE GRIFFITH, REAL ESTATE AGENT, DOUGLAS ELLIMAN: it is a seamless, elevated experience.

NEWTON (voice over): 53 West 53rd in the heart of Manhattan's billionaires row sweeps you in, if not off your feet. Definitely to new heights.

GRIFFITH: There isn't your traditional concierge desk. It almost feels like you are entering part of your living space.

The double height ceiling, the floor to ceiling windows, the views are exceptional.

NEWTON (voice over): And yes, as you already guessed, so is the price. This unit listed for just over $20 million. We are here for the eye candy, of

course -- the views the opulence.

NEWTON (on camera): Oh wow!

GRIFFITH: I know.

NEWTON: It is really a pretty oasis here. You just kind of sink into the views and --

GRIFFITH: It somehow feels calming, right, very Zen.

NEWTON: Yes, it is.

NEWTON (voice over): And we are getting a look, too, at the state of New York real estate.

GRIFFITH: Many of these trophy properties are all going into contract prior to ever hitting the market and we are talking seven plus on a price per

square foot basis.

NEWTON (voice over): Michelle Griffith is talking up to $7,000.00 a square foot.

NEWTON (on camera): You've been at this for 15 years. What has surprised you about where the market is today?

GRIFFITH: The resiliency of the market is what surprises me every time. Taking the pandemic into consideration, a lot of uncertainty. A lot of, you

know cautious buyers. But the way that market turned so quickly post-COVID, I find that to be one of the most surprising things.

NEWTON (voice over): At this end of the market, the sky high end, demand is outstripping supply, but properties starting at about a million dollars,

yes, that's what a modest apartment costs in New York.

GRIFFITH: Rates, that market is really waiting for rates to come down.

NEWTON (voice over): Mortgage rates have stayed stubbornly high for too long.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: Good afternoon.

NEWTON (voice over): And then there's New York's new mayor threatening a 9.5 percent hike on property taxes to wrestle a runaway city budget.

GRIFFITH: I received a lot of text messages on that, Paula.

Tale of two ends, so the higher end of the market, they're not necessarily talking about that, but will that affect first time buyers and other people

that are just considering dipping their toes into the market? Absolutely.

NEWTON (voice over): But not the toes dipping into these waters.

GRIFFITH: This is probably one of our most requested amenities in Manhattan.

NEWTON (on camera): This must really drop some jaws when you bring them in here.

GRIFFITH: Absolutely. This is a complete oasis, starting Paula, with the living green wall, which is on either side of your 65-foot lap pool.

Floor to ceiling windows.

NEWTON (voice over): In the competition between ultra luxury buildings, wellness is a key distinguishing feature -- the pool, the gym, the whole

concept of a curated, health conscious life in the heart of the city.

The exodus from New York post-pandemic was real, but so is its comeback.

GRIFFITH: The diversification of New York, whether its finance, tech, fashion, media, couple that with the culture and the energy of New York

City, it is bringing so many buyers back to New York.

NEWTON (voice over): At this price tag, maybe not everyone all at once, but if mortgage rates edge down, there are plenty of renters ready to be minted

as new New York City homeowners.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Okay, now, Italian olive oil producers say they are struggling to compete with cheaper imports. Now, the farmers group, Coldiretti says olive

oil from Tunisia has flooded the market, forcing its members to sell their product at a loss.

Now, it says olive oil imports exceeded domestic production by 200,000 tons last year. The Italian Food Oil Industry Association says imports are

unavoidable. It believes recent price falls reflect a recovery in local production after a few seasons of extreme weather.

Ana Cane is the president of ASSITOL, Italian Olive Oil Industry Association, and she joins us now from Milan.

A price collapse sounds incredibly dramatic. Tell us what the issue is here. And as so many point out, some of these imports are needed, right?

They're needed so that the supply is there. And so the price is a little bit more stable

[16:30:00]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Some of these imports are needed, right? They're needed so that the supply is there, and so the price is a

little bit more stable.

ANNA CANE, PRESIDENT, ASSITOL: Thank you, Paula, for -- to have me on, first of all. Yes. to understand the current situation, we have to know

from which we are coming from. We come from last few years with a huge lack in production in the Mediterranean area, and particularly in Italy and in

Spain that is the main production country. So we, as an effect, the normal increase in price. So the Italian market and the European market in general

saw an historical huge increase in prices.

After that, starting from last year, production starts to recover and now we have a more or less standard production in the main European countries.

So the price decrease is the normal consequence of the economic dynamics and not -- and not other reason and not manipulation of the market from the

-- from the industry.

And yes, you are true. Due to the fact that Italian production is just one- third of the total need that is around one million tons per year, and we in the -- in the best year we produce around 300,000 tons, we are forced, the

Italian olive oil industry is forced to import from other countries. And this is also our capability as well known for our ability in scouting new

production area in selecting the best oils.

NEWTON: But I guess -- I'm sorry, Anna. Anna, I don't -- sorry, Anna. Anna, I don't have a lot of time, but I'm just wanting to know this is not a new

issue in Italy. I'm telling you, I don't have a lot of time here, but what do you believe the industry needs now? Because consumers want their low

prices and Italian farmers don't want to go bankrupt.

CANE: Yes, because we used to import and we used to select the best oil where it is produced. Tunisia is increasing a lot its production,

increasing not only in quantity but also quality. So if Tunisia requests to double the quote, that means 100,000 tons instead of 50,000.

NEWTON: Right.

CANE: This is representing roughly 10 percent of the total demand.

NEWTON: Right. Anna, Anna, we have -- apologies.

CANE: So what is important -- I would like to underline that what is important and when we import we take into consideration the high quality,

the food safety, the full trustability to guarantee to the consumer the proper product.

NEWTON: Understood. OK. Anna Cane, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much.

And we do want to point out that we just heard back from a Tunisian exporter. The CHO Group says olive oil is the backbone of the Tunisian

economy and any discussion surrounding trade, policy should recognize its important for Tunisia's stability and growth.

Now when we come back, we will have the Nvidia results for you. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:37:35]

NEWTON: Nvidia's quarterly earnings have now been released. The chipmaker reported $68.13 billion in revenue and that was higher than expected.

Earnings per share also came in above analyst expectations.

Ross Gerber is the CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, and he joins us now from Santa Monica.

OK. We have these fresh results. I mean, there's been a lot of talk about whether or not Nvidia is the bellwether here. And does this give us an

indication? I mean, look, a lot of this was preplanned in the sense you knew what the order book was all about. Earnings obviously are going to

make people pretty happy.

Where do you sit on all this? Do you think this where Nvidia goes, the market goes?

ROSS GERBER, CEO, GERBER KAWASAKI WEALTH AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: Well, yes, for sure. And I'm, you know, where I sit is on boatloads of Nvidia

stock. So, you know, it's always a nervous time when they're reporting. They're so consistent. Jensen is such a great CEO that in a way a lot of

this is already sort of baked into the price, even though we see it kind of moving higher after hours.

But they continue to beat even their high expectations with almost 75 percent growth in their businesses. I mean, with 75 percent margins, I've

just never seen a company like this in my career.

NEWTON: I think the real question, though, is, what about the rest of the A.I. play? I mean, you just said you're sitting on a lot of Nvidia shares.

I think people are starting to wonder when you're picking winners and losers, OK, we have Nvidia, it's clearly a winner, but, A, who's also a

winner?

GERBER: Right.

NEWTON: And how long will even the Nvidia play last?

GERBER: So, I want people to try to understand my perspective here in being a long term investor in technology, and especially being an investor who

started his career at the beginning of the internet. So in the early '90s was when I started investing as a professional. And people have to be

patient. It takes a lot of time to build infrastructure. We're short on power. We're short on memory chips.

You know, the growth is just spectacular. But also the demand for A.I. is spectacular. At my firm alone, the only thing we talk about now is the

stuff we're building on Cloud and how amazing it is. And so we're at the beginning of a massive technology revolution that is built upon two or

three decades of data being stored, along with just internet access that now takes the internet to the next level with thinking actual intelligence.

[16:40:10]

So investors should look. And there are many winners that will be a part of this. There's a ton of CAPEX being spent now, but that is what needs to be

done. And that's the mistake that many short sighted people are not understanding, is that the winners have already been picked in A.I. We

already know them by name, and most people in the world know these companies by name. And if they don't invest rapidly, they will lose out. So

this is a really great time for investors.

NEWTON: Is it a great time, though, for A.I. as a whole? I mean, you said you use it in your firm. We've seen so many apocalyptic predictions by now

about what A.I. will or won't do. I mean, you're using it to expand your firm. You're using it in growth. What are you seeing and what would you

tell investors about what they will see going forward?

GERBER: So what I'm telling people is this. If you adopt A.I., if you dive into this, it's going to make you so productive and it's actually going to

help you increase your earnings potential as an employee of whatever company you're working for, and whatever industry you're in. The most

important thing you do tonight is go home and start playing with Chad or Claude or any of these systems, and start learning from it. It's amazing

what it can do.

A.I. will also create huge losers over the next 10 years. And those are the companies and the people that don't adopt this technology. It's going to be

this very rapid splitting between the people who adopt A.I. and the people who don't. And the longer you don't, the more likelihood that you're going

to either lose your job and-or your company will go out of business.

NEWTON: And where are you, though, on the companies that are going out of business? I mean, you know, the software trade is not looking pretty right

now. Some stocks have come back. But do you think this is an existential threat to so many of those large profitable companies?

GERBER: Right. I actually think it's more existential threat to the complacent companies, not per se the data rich companies like Salesforce

that have this opportunity now to invest heavily, like everybody else, into A.I. systems that would make Salesforce 100 times better. And if not,

Claude or some other A.I. systems just going to work on top of Salesforce. And so there is an absolute risk to software companies right now that don't

adapt and don't adopt A.I. technologies.

And so on the other side of the coin, I think these software companies that are legacy providers like Salesforce are in a prime position to do

something great, but they're so damn lazy over there. Marc Benioff is so busy pissing everybody off that he's behind the curve. And it's time for

where is Salesforce A.I.?

NEWTON: All right.

GERBER: So if they don't have Salesforce A.I. soon, they're in trouble.

NEWTON: Yes, there are lots of companies that thought they were ahead of the curve and now some, I guess, as you're saying, are behind the curve.

Ross Gerber, we really appreciate you jumping on with us. We'll have you on again.

That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for us. Up next, "MARKETPLACE EUROPE."

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(MARKETPLACE EUROPE)

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